The Avero Blog

Avero Index: Snowstorm Stella and Restaurant Sales

Yesterday, another nor’easter wreaked havoc across the American North East. The effects of the storm were felt with over 2 feet of snow in some areas, winds of over 50 miles per hour, and even power loss in more than 200,000 homes. Fortunately, public announcements in advance prepared most people well and kept them safe at home. Across all major cities, schools were closed, flights were cancelled, and businesses were shut; however, not all restaurants closed their doors. Some restaurants remained determined to stay open and provide service to hungry guests and even offered special deals to encourage guests to eat at their businesses. For example, in NYC, Union Square Hospitality Group restaurants Gramercy Tavern and The Modern offered a #sNOcorkage deal that waived normal corkage fees. In Boston, both Barcelona Wine Bar locations offered deals on drinks and desserts.

We looked at Avero’s data to examine the sales of the restaurants that stayed open during Stella across various states in the North East to see if this storm was as punishing as snowstorm Jonas was a little over a year ago. Overall, approximately half of the restaurants examined were closed due to the snowstorm. Of those that were open, sales decreased by 19.04% compared to the same day last year. Massachusetts saw the worst decrease in sales (34.07%). It seems that despite the marketing efforts by the businesses that did stay open, restaurants were not able to keep up their profits.